My place is mostly filled with Eastern White Pines and because they are pine trees, they keep their needles all year long.

There were a few other species near the river that had a few leaves still left on them. The leaves that were still on the tree were yellowed and looked close to falling off. Those species were:

• American Beech
• White Oak
• Norway Maple

There were also some ferns that were still green on the forest floor. Since it had just snowed, they were all covered in snow. They also seemed more compressed down than usual. This may be because of the snow weight or because they are beginning to die.

I also noticed that there seemed to be a lot more leaf litter on the ground. Or at least the branches and other plant material were more noticeable. Since many of the leaves are gone, you can see through the forest much easier now.

I kept seeing this weird configuration of ice on the ground. I’m not sure what it is or how it forms but when you step on it, it crunches and shatters into many smaller ice pieces. It definitely has to do with how cold it was today (about 20 degrees) because even the mud on the ground was frozen.